Did you know that Apple Inc has released nearly 29 iPhone models since 2007? And with the hearsay of an iPhone SE 3 and other releases soon, this figure is definitely going to increase. All iPhones run on a mobile operating system which Apple names “iOS”.
A new version of iOS is launched every year, each having more features than the former. Every new iPhone comes out with the latest version of iOS, and the older iPhones usually get a software update to the latest version.
In this vast sea of iPhone models, you might be wondering which iPhone you’ve got. Knowing your model number is essential because certain models may not be compatible with few latest features. For example, the iPhone 11 does not support Touch ID, etc. Also, certain older models may not be able to use the latest updates.
The model number also plays an important role when you put your iPhone for sale Because the Buyer wants to know exactly what they are getting. There can be a lot other reasons why you might need to tell the difference between iPhones. This article is all about how to find out what iPhone you have.
How to Find Out What iPhone you Have Got
Even experienced users can find it hard to identify iPhone apart by sight. This is because Apple updates the iPhone every year, but it doesn’t necessarily make changes in the design. The significant change can be on the inside, such as faster new components, etc.
The easiest way to identify an iPhone was to check the ‘A’ model number on its back, and this article includes the A numbers for every iPhone. But lately Apple does not print ‘A’ numbers. So, for those with recent iPhone models, or who find the number too small to read, there are other methods. You can either check in Settings, or look at the phone’s shape and external features and make an identification.
1. Look in Settings for the Model
Looking in the Settings is the simplest method.
Step 1: Open the Settings app.
Step 2: Tap General.
Step 3: Select About.
Step 4: Among top entries you’ll see “Model Name”, followed by your model. For example, iPhone 12 Pro maybe displayed next to “Model Name”.
Some older iPhones do not show the iPhone model name.
Step 5: Below the “Model Name” is the “Model Number” (also known as the SKU). It’s a combination of letters and numbers that provides a more precise identification as it specifies storage capacity and even color.
The model number is available in both older and new phones.
Step 6: Tap on the SUK to display the A number instead, which can also be used to identify which iPhone model you have.
The settings page also provides information regarding the device’s capacity, which is listed a little further down.
Settings app is extremely helpful when it comes to identifying what iPhone you have. But it is dysfunctional when you’re trying to identify a bricked device or one you can’t unlock. Hence, it would be better to move on to the visual identification chart in the next section.
2. Look on your device
Step 1: Look for identification number printed on the back starting with the letter A, and labelled ‘Model’. For example, “Model A1634”. This is called a number.
If you do not find the A number printed on the back your iPhone is an iPhone 8 or later.
Step 2: On an iPhone 8 or later, remove the SIM tray and look for the A number in the SIM tray slot. The A number is on the upper side—the side with the display.
In both the cases make sure there is bright light overhead. Do not hesitate to get the help of a magnifying glass as the print is small. Once you have got the A number, check it against this list to see which model you’ve got.
Note: There are multiple A numbers for some iPhones referring to various versions for different territories, network standards and so on.
- A1203: Original iPhone
- A1241: iPhone 3G
- A1303: iPhone 3GS
- A1332, A1349: iPhone 4
- A1387: iPhone 4S
- A1428, A1429: iPhone 5
- A1456, A1507, A1526, A1529 or A1532: iPhone 5c
- A1453, A1457, A1528, A1530 or A1533: iPhone 5s
- A1549, A1586 or A1589: iPhone 6
- A1522, A1524 or A1593: iPhone 6 Plus
- A1633 or A1688: iPhone 6s
- A1634 or A1687: iPhone 6s Plus
- A1723, A1662 or A1724: iPhone SE (2016)
- A1660, A1778 or A1779: iPhone 7
- A1661, A1784 or A1785: iPhone 7 Plus
- A1863, A1905 or A1906: iPhone 8
- A1864, A1897 or A1898: iPhone 8 Plus
- A1865, A1901 or A1902: iPhone X
- A1984, A2105, A2106 or A2108: iPhone XR
- A1920, A2097, A2098 or A2100: iPhone XS
- A1921, A2101, A2102 or A2104: iPhone XS Max
- A2111, A2223 or A2221: iPhone 11
- A2160, A2217 or A2215: iPhone 11 Pro
- A2161, A2220 or A2218: iPhone 11 Pro Max
- A2275, A2298 or A2296: iPhone SE (2020)
- A2176, A2398, A2400 or A2399: iPhone 12 mini
- A2172, A2402, A2404 or A2403: iPhone 12
- A2341, A2406, A2408 or A2407: iPhone 12 Pro
- A2342, A2410, A2412 or A2411: iPhone 12 Pro Max
How to Find Out What iPhone you Have by Sight
If for some reason the method above did not come handy, you can still tell what kind of iPhone you have got by checking its build, external features and so on.
- Original iPhone
The original iPhone from 2007 can be easily identified. It has a gray/silver rear with a black band across the bottom.
- iPhone 3G and iPhone 3GS
If your iPhone has a curved plastic rear without the black band from the original iPhone, you’ve got an iPhone 3G or 3GS. Both models were sold in a black finish.
However, you can check for the shininess of the detailing on the back of your iPhone. On the 3GS, the Apple logo and the imprint below are the same shiny silver; on the 3G, the imprint is less shiny than the logo. Moreover, if it’s white, then you have got a 3GS.
The display can fit only 4 rows of app icons and a dock row, at the bottom.
- iPhone 4 and iPhone 4s
The iPhone 4 and iPhone 4s both have a front glass and a rear glass. It came in black or white. Unfortunately, it’s difficult to identify the iPhone 4 and iPhone 4s apart.
Look for a SIM tray on the right-hand side. The iPhone 4, was available both with and without a SIM tray. The iPhone 4s always has a SIM tray.
The display is similar to the previous model with 4 rows of app icons and a dock row, at the bottom.
- iPhone 5
The iPhone 5 looks similar to the iPhone 4 and 4s but comes with a taller 4 inch display. It can fit five rows of app icons and a dock row, at the bottom, unlike the preceding models.
- iPhone 5s
The iPhone 5s looks largely identical to the iPhone 5, but has the Touch ID fingerprint scanner as an added feature. Moreover, the Home button is no longer the same. The square on it has disappeared — it’s just a plain circle.
On the white-front models you can see a shiny metal ring around the edge whereas in the black one, it is entirely black.
The color schemes are also different, with Silver, Gold and Space Grey replacing Black and White.
- iPhone 5c
The iPhone 5c comes in a range of bright plastic colors and has a curved plastic back. Hence, it is very easy to spot. The colors include green, blue, yellow, red and white.
- iPhone 6 and iPhone 6s
The 6-series was completely redesigned; rounded-off edges replaced the squarer look of previous phones. The screens were larger than earlier models. They measured 4.7in diagonally.
The iPhone 6 came in silver, gold, and Space Grey. whereas, The iPhone 6s came in rose gold as well as Silver, Gold, and Space Grey.
To differentiate between iPhone 6 and iPhone 6s; look for the letter S on the back, below the word iPhone. This indicates that it’s an iPhone 6s.
- iPhone 6 Plus and iPhone 6s Plus
The iPhone 6 Plus and iPhone 6s Plus look like the iPhone 6 but are much larger. they measure 5.5-inch diagonally. They’ve got room for six rows of icons on the Home screen, and the dock row.
Only the 6s Plus comes in Rose Gold, and the S model is designated by a letter S on the back, below the word iPhone.
- iPhone SE (2016)
The original iPhone SE uses the same color scheme as the iPhone 6 series but has the same design elements as that of the iPhone 5s. To identify between a 5s and SE, turn the iPhone and look for the SE stamp at the back.
It should also be noted that the SE came in Rose Gold, whereas the 5s only came in Silver, Space Grey, and Gold.
- iPhone 7
The iPhone 7 has a 4.7-inch screen, with a glass front and aluminum back. It is similar to the 6 and 6s, but thinner and the back of the body does not possess the horizontal lines at the top and bottom. Moreover, it does not have a headphone jack at the bottom. It has a single Lightning port in the center of the bottom edge, with speaker grilles on either side.
It is available in six colors and was the first iPhone to come in red.
- iPhone 7 Plus
Unsurprisingly, the iPhone 7 Plus is similar to the iPhone 7. A major difference is the larger 5.5-inch display. It also greatly varies from iPhone 7 for the horizontal twin-lens rear-facing camera. It also follows the same color scheme as iPhone 7.
- iPhone 8
The iPhone 8 is a lot similar to iPhone 7 with a 4.7-inch screen and no headphone jack. A major difference from the 7 is that iPhone 8 has a glass back rather than aluminum.
The 7 came in black, gold, Rose Gold, silver, red, and the ridiculously shiny Jet Black, whereas the 8 only comes in Silver, Space Grey, new Pinkish Gold, and Red.
- iPhone 8 Plus
This is also similar to the iPhone 7 Plus with a 5.5-inch display and a twin-lens camera protruding slightly from the back. And there is no headphone port.
But the back is glass rather than aluminum. Color options available are silver, Space Grey, Red, and the new Pinky Gold. No shiny Jet Black here as well.
- iPhone X
The iPhone X has no Home button on the front. The screen comes down almost to the bottom of the chassis. It has a ‘notch’ on the top of the screen, and it has two cameras on the back, arranged vertically. The iPhone X came in just two color options – Silver and Space Grey.
- iPhone XR
The iPhone XR has a 6.1-inch screen, but that’s also true for the most recent models of the iPhone 11, 12, and 12 Pro. The major difference comes with the single camera lens on the rear. It comes in Black, White, Blue, Yellow, Coral, and Red.
- iPhone XS
It is a bit tricky to identify iPhone XS because it looks identical to the iPhone X. It now comes in a new color – gold – and offers a new 512GB storage capacity at the top end.
The physical upgrades from the iPhone X are nearly impossible for a consumer to check. The glass back was reinforced to make it less prone to cracking, and the waterproof rating was increased from IP67 to IP68.
- iPhone XS Max
The XS Max can be identified by its screen size, which has s mighty 6.5-inch display.
Like the other X-series handsets, it has got no Home button, and its screen has a notch at the top. It comes in Silver, Gold, and Space Grey.
- iPhone 11
There were 3 new models released in the autumn of 2019. The cheapest of these is the iPhone 11.
The iPhone 11 looks similar to iPhone XR but having its two rear cameras, arranged in a vertical configuration within a square block. No other iPhone has this rear-camera configuration other than iPhone 11. it comes in white, black, green, yellow, purple, and red, and has a 6.1-inch screen with no Home button.
- iPhone 11 Pro
The iPhone 11 Pro has three cameras on the rear. The 11 Pro has a 5.8-inch screen. These features make iPhone 11 pro easily distinguishable from others.
- iPhone 11 Pro Max
The 11 Pro Max also has three camera lenses on the rear but features a 6.5-inch screen making it different from the former.
- iPhone SE (2020)
Apple popular SE was revived in 2020, but it was less compact than its 2016 predecessor. iPhone SE has most of its features similar to iPhone 11 but in the curved-edge chassis of the iPhone 8.
It has a 4.7-inch screen and a single camera lens on the rear. It has a Home button with Touch ID built-in, and a glass back.
- iPhone 12 mini
The iPhone 12 mini has a 5.4-inch screen (including the notch at the top) and the same square, sharp-edged sides which is common for the rest of the 12-series handsets. It has got no Home button.
It has two camera lenses on the rear, but they sit to the left of a larger square camera module. On the right side of the module is a small flash. The back is glass.
- iPhone 12
The iPhone 12 like all the 12-series handsets have sharp, squared-off edges. It has a 6.1-inch screen (with a notch). It has two camera lenses on the back and no Home button. it comes in Black, White, Red, Light Green, Dark Blue, and Purple.
- iPhone 12 Pro
The iPhone 12 Pro can be easily identified by its combination of triple camera lenses on the rear, sharp, squared-off edges, and a 6.1-inch screen. It comes in Silver, Gold, Black and Dark blue.
- iPhone 12 Pro Max
The iPhone 12 Pro Max with a 6.7-inch screen has the biggest display ever. It also has triple camera lenses on the rear. There’s a notch at the top of the screen and no Home button. The edges are sharp as on the rest of the 12-series handsets.
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Important FAQs on How to Find Out What iPhone you Have
What iOS is my iPhone Running?
It is easy to figure out your iOS.
- Open the Settings app.
- Tap General.
- Select About.
You’ll see what version you’re running.
How to know your iPhone Capacity?
If you want to find the storage capacity of your iPhone (8 GB, 128 GB, 512 GB), you can find this under settings in IOS. Go to General > About > Capacity.
Can I increase the storage capacity of my iPhone?
Once purchased, iPhone memory can never be increased. This is one reason Apple no longer sells any device with only 16GB of memory anymore. To make enough space you can either Delete things you don’t need/use such as apps, Photos, Videos, Music, Messages, Email, Files, etc. or buy a newer iPhone with more memory.
How Long Does Apple Support Older iPhone Models?
The original iPhone and the iPhone 3G received two major iOS updates. The later models typically get software updates for five to six years. Being shipped with iOS 9, the iPhone 6s will become the first generation to see a seventh iOS version this fall, making it the technological equivalent of a tortoise outlasting generations of humans.
Summary
The above article is a complete guide on ‘How to find out the iPhone you have?’. Knowing your iPhone model can come in handy in many instances. The more precise way to find your iPhone model is by using the Settings app. Unfortunately, if the Settings app is not accessible, the external build, features, and the ‘A’ number can come to your rescue. We wish you good luck to succeed in finding your iPhone model!